AFC Leopards chairman Dan Shikanda is urging the club’s supporters to emulate their counterparts from Tanzanian giants Yanga by ensuring they back the club in deed and kind.

Shikanda, who was part of the Leopards corporate taskforce that was on a benchmarking visit to Tanzania this month, says there is a lot that fans can learn from Yanga supporters, especially when it comes to ensuring they do not deny the club revenue as well as their behaviour in the stadium.

Yanga are enjoying the fruits of their fans’ commitment with revenues of over Ksh1 billion recorded last year, largely down to matchday income, sale of merchandise and membership subscription fees, while it has become easier to market the club as there are no incidents of hooliganism.

AFC Leopards chairman Dan Shikanda has revealed some of the things the club learnt during their benchmarking visit to Tanzanian giants Yanga as they seek to change governance structure.

These are some of the issues Leopards have been grappling with for years and Shikanda feels the 12-time Kenyan champions can also elevate their status if their fans showed such commitment.

“They [Yanga] have an anchor in GSM who have invested a lot in the players but also their fans have invested in the team in terms of registration and buying jerseys and their fans come to the stadium and pay,” Shikanda told , while enumerating some of the issues they learnt at Yanga.

“They pay about Ksh800 to watch a match, no fan comes to cheat or enter for free or to destroy things whether the team wins or loses, and that is how they manage the team.

“They make sure their fans are participating and disciplined and they are supporting them to move to the next level.”

Shikanda’s sentiments stems from the various incidents of hooliganism witnessed among Leopards’ supporters over the years which has seen the club slapped with heavy fines while making it difficult to woo sponsors.

Ingwe is also among Kenyan clubs still struggling to make money from merchandise sales given the presence of a lot of counterfeit products in the market that deny them revenue.

Sports Kenya has fined Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards for stadium vandalism during the Mashemeji Derby.

The Leopards’ hierarchy, however, feels changing from the current model of a community club to a corporate entity, that will allow external investors to the club, can address some of those issues.

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